NEW YORK — One of the two New York City cops murdered in an ambush was just one hour away from graduating from a volunteer chaplain program when he died, according to the interfaith organization which trained him. Officer Rafael Ramos, a married father who recently celebrated his 40th birthday, had spent ten weeks studying to become a certified chaplain with the New York State Chaplain Task Force, according to the group's president, Rev. Marcos Miranda.

Gunman Ismaiiyl Brinsley shot Ramos and his fellow officer Wenjian Liu in the head at around 2:47 p.m. on Saturday. Ramos' chaplain class was scheduled to graduate at around 4 p.m. that day, Miranda said, adding that he was not sure if Ramos had been planning to attend the commencement ceremony. Miranda described Ramos as an "amazing" man who was excited to become a chaplain, telling NBC News that the officer had mentioned going into full-time ministry after retiring from the New York Police Department. He said his organization hopes to present Ramos' chaplain credentials to his family at the officer's memorial service.